World AIDS Day was celebrated in Key West yesterday. At the AIDS Memorial at the entrance to the White Street Pier.

Key West remembers the AIDS victims. All loved. Sadly gone.

Key West jumped in to help in the early days of the epidemic. AIDS Help came into being. A special friend Dee Raniuk was part of AIDS Help for 20 years. AIDS victims became her life’s work.

Dee was raised on the Cape. Earned herself a PhD in psychology. She could have worked anywhere with the degree. For significant dollars. Instead, she opted to work with AIDS victims in Key West. She dedicated herself to them.

Dee is now retired from AIDS Help. She has a second home on Cudjoe Key. Tragedy has befallen Dee. Not AIDS. Something just as bad. She is a cancer victim.

The past two years have not been easy for her. A couple of operations. A lot of suffering. Cannot eat. Only drink. And not alcohol. Her drugs too powerful. A couple of sips of wine and Dee is off the wall.

I love Dee. I am glad she has been a part of my life in recent years. I hope she continues to be.

Yesterday afternoon was spent fine tuning last night’s blog talk radio show. Tuesday Talk with Key West Lou. Did the show in the evening.

For some reason, I had more material than normal. Twice as much. Not certain why. Perhaps more things happened this past week. Whatever, I got them all in. I can’t wait to listen to the archived edition later this morning. I am concerned I might have talked a bit too fast.

Santa Claus and Don’t Pee On Me were two interesting topics.

A shopping mall in New Jersey decided to charge to see Santa Claus this year. Built a special house within the mall. North Pole thing. Children charged $35 each to talk to Santa Claus. Family fee was $75. Only lasted 5 days. The public outcry was too much. Now free. As it should be.

Don’t pee on me interesting. Apparently, people have taken to peeing outdoors in large numbers worldwide. Generally against a wall. The result an enduring disgusting smell.

Cologne and San Francisco among those with the problem. In San Francisco, party goers and the homeless. In Cologne, men in general.

The solution, a special hydrophobic paint. The walls were painted with the urine paint. It caused urine splashed against a wall to be returned to the peeer (such a word?) at the same angle. The peeer pissed on by his own excretion.

In Cologne, warning signs: You pee on me, I pee on you.

Another item discussed is the new $313 million cloning plant being built in China. Primarily to clone cows. Not enough beef available for China’s middle class.

This morning I saw a news report that the director involved with the cloning plant says humans can be cloned. Now. Today. Public reaction is the only thing prohibiting it.

My column in KONK Life this week is The Eiffel Tower. A biography. KONK Life hits the stands today.

One of the best shows ever produced in Key West was Broadway 3 Ways. It ran for several years at La Te Da. Fun! Enjoyable! Worth the admission price.

Mark Watson is running for Fantasy Fest King. My candidate! A fundraiser is being held tonight at Aqua. From 6 to 8:30. Members of the La Te Da show are returning to help Mark. The Broadway 3 Ways Show tonight at Aqua. A $15 donation. Well worth the price of admission.

Mark was one of the stars of Broadway 3 Ways. Others stars appearing are Randy Thompson, Bruce Moore, and Bobby Nesbitt.

My yesterday began with the anti-gravity treadmill. My first thursday.

Then a haircut. Followed by an afternoon reading and napping. It’s a good life!

Last night, bocce.

We won 2 out of 3 games. Quite a while since we lost one. Our record now 15-3.

It hurt to lose. Any other time, 2 out of 3 would be a good night. However, this season we are near the top. Instead of fighting for a 4th or 5th position to make the playoffs, we are battling to come in 1st.

We won the first 2 games handily. The last was a long hard haul. We were losing 8-1. Then 14-6. Then, we rallied. Score was 14-14. We lost 16-14.

The team played well. We were not up to our usual ability, however.

I will be guesting on the KONK Life News Hour today. 12:10 to 12:20. Give a listen. I will be questioned regarding my KONK column this week re Pope Francis.